PURCHASE, N.Y. — The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team continued Skyline Conference play on Friday, March 22, against Yeshiva University and The College at Old Westbury. The Gothic Knights defeated both opponents in three-set sweeps, with the Yeshiva-hosted tri-match taking place on Purchase College's campus, and the Green and Gold have now won 13 matches in a row. NJCU, which has only dropped two of 41 sets played over that stretch, sits alone atop the Skyline standings as the conference's lone unbeaten.

NJCU 3, Yeshiva 0
Match number one on the day saw the Gothic Knights (16-8, 13-0 Skyline) square off with the hosting Maccabees (1-24, 1-15 Skyline) and the first set started off evenly, with NJCU holding a slim 6-4 lead. A 9-0 run by the Green and Gold changed that as the visitors went up 15-4, including six aces and a kill from graduate student co-captain opposite James Bajor (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) over that stretch. Yeshiva cut into the lead a bit at 17-8 before the Gothic Knights closed out the set on an 8-1 run, including three aces from junior middle blocker Nate Aguilar (Kearny, N.J./Kearny). Overall, Bajor had four kills, six aces, three digs and a solo block in that first set.

Set number two started with NJCU going on a 6-1 run, including a couple of kills from sophomore middle blocker Amaru Perales (Harrison, N.J./Harrison). Leading 13-7, the Gothic Knights went on another momentum affirming run, 7-0, to take a 20-7 lead, including a pair of kills from senior outside hitter Mahmoud Serour (Kearny, N.J./Kearny). The teams then traded points until NJCU came out on top, 25-12. Bajor had three kills, three aces and two digs, while sophomore outside hitter Victor De Souza (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) notched four kills and Seour had three to go with three digs and an ace.

Trailing 2-1 in the third, the Green and Gold went on a 7-1 run, including a kill and an ace from Serour. Then, holding a 12-7 advantage, the Gothic Knights closed out the final set and match from there on a 13-3 run to take it 25-10. Bajor had six more kills and four more digs in the third, while freshman setter Faraz Bhatti (Union, N.J./Union) had 10 assists, one kill, one ace and a solo block to go with three kills for De Souza.

Highlights vs. Yeshiva:
- Bajor extended his double-digit kill streak to five in a row with a match-best 13 and just two errors on 22 swings (.500 hitting percentage). He added a career- and match-best nine aces to go with a match-high-tying nine digs and a block.
- Serour had seven error-less kills on 17 swings (.412) to go with seven digs and three aces.
- Senior David Patulot (Carteret, N.J./Carteret), making his first start as the primary libero, tied Bajor with a match- and career-best nine digs.
- Bhatti led all players with 20 assists, while sophomore setter Alex Casais (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) had 10 assists and a solo stuff in his lone set played.

NJCU 3, Old Westbury 0
The final match of the day as NJCU take on the Panthers (1-15, 1-10 Skyline) for the second time this season, but it was the same story once again. The Gothic Knights had several short bursts of offense in the first set, including a 5-1 start to the game. Still leading by four at 10-6, the Green and Gold won four straight points to take a 14-6 advantage. Up by five at 19-14, NJCU closed out the set with a 6-3 stretch to take it, 25-17. Bajor was strong once again, notching seven kills, three digs and two aces, while rookie outside hitter Marcus Pardasie (Paramus, N.J./Cresskill) was a perfect 5-for-5 on his swings, adding two digs.

NJCU started off the second with a 6-1 run — De Souza had two aces and a kill over that stretch. Leading 8-5, the Gothic Knights followed by winning 10 of the next 11 points to go up 18-6, including three aces and a kill from Pardasie and two kills for De Souza. The teams traded back and forth as NJCU maintained that eight-point lead at 20-12 before closing out the set with five of the final eight points to win it 25-15. De Souza had three kills and two aces, while Pardasie had three aces, two digs and two kills.

Set number three started off with another NJCU run, 7-2, including two aces from sophomore setter Erik Narvaez (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) and two kills for Perales. Old Westbury came all the way back to tie it up at 9-9, but the Gothic Knights answered with an 11-1 run to take a 20-10 lead, including three kills for Pardasie and two kills and a block for Perales. The Green and Gold closed out the set and match by winning five of the last six points to check off 13 wins in a row. Perales totaled four kills, two digs, two blocks and an ace in that set, while Pardasie had five kills and two digs.

Highlights vs. Old Westbury:
- Pardasie led all players with 12 kills and just two errors on 18 swings (.556), adding three aces and six digs.
- De Souza had eight kills and two errors on 21 attempts (.286), adding four digs, two aces and a block.
- Bajor played only two sets, but nonetheless had eight kills and one error on 11 swings (.636), adding a team-high-tying seven digs and two aces.
- Perales ended with seven kills and no errors on 11 swings (.636) to go with three digs, two blocks and an ace.
- Patulot had a team-high-tying seven digs.
- Narvaez dished out a match-best 20 assists over two sets to go with a match-high four aces, while Casais had 14 assists in the first set.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return home on Wednesday night, March 27, as they go for their program-record-tying 14th straight victory. NJCU hosts Skyline foe Sarah Lawrence College at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) in a 7:00 p.m. match.